Series
The Black Hand - Will Thomas ($14.00/$1.50, copyright 2008, 289 pages, Trade Paperback)
This is an entry in the Barker and Llewelyn series. I read the first one in the series many years ago and enjoyed it so, when I came across this, I scooped it up. Cyrus Barker is a private enquiry agent with a varied past and Thomas Llewelyn is his assistant. This one is set in 1885 and they're called on by the police to check out a murder victim who turns out to be a former assassin Barker recognizes. This leads to their being hired by the Home Office to look into the appearance of the Mafia in London. There are other murders, attempted murders, threats ,attacks, and a couple of great fight scenes. There's also a good bit of humor and some insight into the characters' past. The characters are well defined and the writing is smooth.The only drawback is that - as part of a series- the author supposes that the reader doesn't need any introductions so it took me a while to come up to speed. I enjoyed it.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes And The Secret Alliance - Larry Millett ($10.98/$1.50, copyright 2001, 401 pages, Paperback)
Millett has written a series of books revolving around Holmes & Watson's adventures in and around the Midwest US. I read several of them many years ago and grabbed this as soon as I saw it. In the ones I read, Shadwell Rafferty - a bar owner and part time detective - had played a part. In this volume, Rafferty takes center stage and Holmes & Watson are helpful but secondary characters. Rafferty is asked to look in to the lurid death of a union activist - simple enough, but it rapidly becomes complicated. Millett mixes in famous people, a Presidential visit, scandal, a potentially devastating explosion, cover ups, and more murders. I didn't like the fact that each chapter started with Watson's notes in a short-hand that I found distracting and there's lot of history I could have done without. The characters are well defined but I thought the ending was contrived. It was OK.
Miscellaneous
The Sea Hawk - Rafael Sabatini ($13.95/$1.50, published 1915, 372 pages, Trade Paperback)
This was the book that jumped out at me. I've read several of Sabatini's works and enjoyed them all. As I understand it, this book was to be the plot for the Errol Flynn movie but they decided on a different
script and only kept the title. The "hero", Sir Oliver Tressilian, is a reformed pirate who helped defeat the Spanish Armada. He's now living a quiet life in the family home with hopes of marrying. Of course, in Sabatini's works, things don't work out that way. He's betrayed by his half-brother, sold into slavery, and eventually finds himself freed by Barbary pirates. He joins them and becomes one of the best. (If this sounds a bit like "Captain Blood" that's because Sabatini wrote that too.) Sabatini weaves a great story and, eventually, brings all the character together for what would make a great cinematic ending. The language is a bit flowery, but the action is intense and Sabatini has created some really memorable characters. I enjoyed it.
I've been back to that Thrift Store several times since then but haven't found any other books that interested me. That's the kind of place it is. You can't go there looking for anything particular, but you can always find something.
That's it for now. Enjoy the summer and .......
Keep Reading.
